The French Paradox

Among the questions which the natives of my adoptive country pose to me, this is interesting and yet most delicate to answer. What do I think of the French?

For a start, they are paradoxical.

Camping (the movie)

At first impression, they are to me, creative and open-minded. On the contrary, there is also a portion of the population that is stubborn and fermé. Not long ago, the French people only started to travel out of France. They are at least 2 generations behind in terms of travelling and having international exposures. I have not many acquaintances here, and out of 30 people that I know, 4 are afraid of taking the plane. That makes 13.33% in statistics by simple population sampling. There is even one of them who have never been out of France….ever.

My grandparents emigrated from China to Malaysia in the early 20^th century. Even after they have settled down in Malaysia, I remember that my grandmother travelled occasionally to China and the neighbouring countries in Asia for holiday. My grandmother is not any different from an average south-east Asian. However, it is not a norm in France. That’s what I meant by the 2-generations analogy. We just beginning to see my French peers tipping the statistics; being savvy travellers, discovering countries that offer something other than Alps, lavender, cheese, and Renaissance.

I like the movie Camping. It’s about regular holiday-makers who spend their summer religiously in the same camping ground year after year. The funniest line I have heard from the film is when an unusual face who stumbled upon the camping park, asked the regular guests: “why don’t you just buy a holiday home here since you like the place and come here every year?” The answer was: “we like moving about with the camping car to see different places”. Ironic, isn’t it? The answer was absolutely logical. But what about the part on “seeing different places”?

Camping is a microscopic analogy of what was mentioned in the earlier paragraphs. I don’t deny that French people travel a lot. But, I mean yes, they do travel a lot around France. Yes, France the same giant camping park. 

David Guetta & Croquettes

What is the difference between David Guetta and Croquettes? Guetta is French and the croquette (even au fromage) is foreign. And what is common between the two then? Both are new ideas and not easily acceptable in France. House music is now beginning to get the attention in Paris, however I think we are about 10 years late in accepting new music. This is an analogy that I like to use to illustrate that new (and foreign) things are not easily acceptable in France. Furthermore, something French (e.g. Guetta) may not be readily acceptable by the average French. By the way, the famous DJ has nothing to do with croquettes. A comparison is made just to amplify the point.

We are about 10 years behind in appreciating foreign cuisine. I remember when I was in England between 1995 and 1998, sushi and Japanese udon (noodles) were beginning to be popular in London. Yet, many Parisians today have never frequented a sushi bar.

The Forefathers

So how did we have in the same population, the “camping people” and the sorts who spearheaded the high-speed train, philosophy and haute couture? Who are the ancestors who discovered that frog’s legs can be a delicious dish? I’m certainly awed by the geniuses who founded Renaissance and the European Union.

I adore the country and am trying to learn more about the people (is there anything else hidden that I don’t know about them?). For one thing that I hope is that the French people continue to be “so French” and for more of them to look beyond the camping park. As your forefathers have proved that you can be marvelous, I’m convinced that not all French people are camping people.

Cat on a tree

Here’s another episode inspired by the stray (but cute) cats in the neighbourhood. I bet this would please our friend’s 4-year-old son, Jordan, as he was absolutely fascinated by the Sly and Tweety story a few weeks ago.

 

One night while we were reading on the bed to help us doze off, we heard a sudden cry outside our window. It was a cat’s “scream”, a very angry one. Out of curiosity, we opened the volet to see what was happening. We were surprised to see no cat on the grass or anywhere nearby. Then we heard a noise coming from the tree just in front of our window. Up there, we spotted a cat! I have never seen a cat up on a tree before (as I have always lived in cities). I often hear about the firemen in the countryside rescuing silly cats who managed to climb up a tree but not having the courage to come down.

 

It seems that our neighbourhood’s cats are pretty courageous and savage. They roam about, climb the trees and hunt the birds freely in our compound. The next day, I checked the tree again and was relieved that he wasn’t there anymore.

Dream kitchen

Given a limited budget (I guess it’s always the case for everyone) for renovation works, I would prefer to spend a major proportion in the kitchen. For most French as well as Asians, we love food and we have most our meals at home. As the kitchen evolves from a “work” room to a family room nowadays, it is nice to have a comfortable and cosy, and yet practical space to cook and converse with family members and occasionally, guests.

During our visit to the Foire de Paris, we visited several contractors’ booths and one particular show-kitchen designed by a Belgian ébeniste attracted me most. I noted down the name of the brand and then later on, I found their lovely website.

How to Superpoke without Facebook

Simple.

 

Open your email application. Click on “New Message”. Insert the email address of the persons you want to Superpoke. In the body, type “Somebody has just Superpoked you”. Click “Send”.

 

Voilà.

 

This is how we do it in the office ever since our company’s IT security geniuses inserted a spy application to block all kinds of networking and blogging applications on the internet.

 

This method is just as versatile and dynamic as the original applications on Facebook. You can update your status real-time, send a gift, send a message, etc.

 

Have fun!

I taw, I taw a putty tat!

I always have a picture in mind that cats love hunting birds, recalling Sylvester and Tweedy bird. I thought that the love and hate relationship between cats and birds exist only in cartoons. Until yesterday evening, I realised that it’s not a myth after all.

So yesterday evening, we got home at the usual timing and found that our neighbour’s cat wasn’t at his favourite spot. Surprise, surprise…. We saw him sitting in a discreet corner behind the hedge, eating a pigeon! The “murder” sight was rather gross but I must say that his “job” was done in a rather organised manner. He removed all the feathers in one corner and then brought it to another place for bouffer. When he realised that we were watching him, he looked as if he blushed. We called him and he wanted to approach us but instead, he gave sort of a Cheshire Cat grin before leaving the scene. I guess he needed a little sieste…..

First Anniversary

It feels like it was only yesterday we had celebrated the most memorable day in our lives. No, it was actually 360 days ago. We are beginning to count our wedding anniversaries…. like many married couples. Some fortunate ones have counted their jubilee, golden and diamond. It’s so amazing to see how two people can live together for so long.

Human beings are born selfish. People in general have so many disputes and wars among themselves and self-interests are taken above anything else. Most of us are anything but as told in the commandments “love your neighbours as yourself”.

As our anniversary approaches, I take the opportunity to self-reflect. My spouse is my closest “neighbour”. To make the marriage strong and solid, I shall love my spouse as commanded “loving him as myself. With that level of love as a basis, we are building the strongest type of partnership ever known to man. It is the most sophisticated form of relationship (after self and God). When we love our spouses as ourselves, we break down most of our self-made barriers and interests to contribute towards the partnership and family.

To us. Happy Anniversary!

Nominate a cake!

In France, we’re spoilt for choice when comes to pastries and sweets. That is why I have decided to nominate a specific cake to be my birthday cake every year from now on. Bernard just had a Succès for his birthday this month. I have already chosen mine for this coming December. It will be an Opéra.